A 'smuggler' who captained the wooden vessel that capsized off the coast of Puerto Rico and left 11 Haitian migrant women dead could be spending the rest of his life in prison, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection announced Monday.
Fermín Montilla, 43, appeared before a federal judge in the U.S. territory island Friday and was accused of smuggling migrants.
The Dominican Republic national was in charge of navigating the 25-foot vessel that took on water and overturned 11 miles from the uninhabited Desecho Island Thursday.
A total of 38 people, including Montilla, were rescued after a CBP spotted the boat and alerted the U.S.
Coast Guard.
Fermín Montilla appeared in a Puerto Rico federal court Friday and was charged with smuggling migrants.
The 43-year-old Dominican Republic native captained the wooden vessel was transporting between 60 to 75 people Thursday when it took on water and overturned near Desecho Island off the coast of Puerto Rico
At least 11 people - all women - died after the wooden vessel they were being smuggled on took on water and overturned off the coast of Puerto Rico on Thursday after it had sailed from the Dominican Republic's eastern coast
U.S.
Coast Guard said Monday it was no longer searching for possible survivors after a vessel overturned near the uninhabited Desecho Island, located off Puerto Rico's west coast. Authorities said 11 Haitian migrant women died and 38 people were rescued, including the captain
A CBP spokesperson told DailyMail.com that border agents and coast guard officers had to intervene when some of the surviving migrants attempted to beat Montilla.
Authorities estimated between 60 to 75 people were on the boat at the time of the tragic accident.
Efforts to search for potential survivors were called off Monday by the U.S.
Coast Guard after crews canvassed the area, which lies west of Puerto Rico, for four days.
'Our most heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of those who did not survive or remain missing,' said Capt. Gregory Magee, commander of the San Juan Coast Guard sector.
'These crews have done their utmost to ensure that if there were any more survivors, that they would have had the best chance to be rescued.'
CBP has seen a sharp increase over the last couple of months in migrants, especially from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, making what they describe as dangerous voyages aboard the dingy boats that often capsize or drop people off in uninhabited islands.
The perilous trip is one of the cheapest ways for migrants to flee poverty and violence in Haiti where a rising inflation, kidnappings and gang violence have prompted people to take the risk of finding a spot on makeshift vessels in search of a better life elsewhere.